Rwandan cyclists Joseph Areruya(Middle), Valens Ndayisenga and Samuel Mugisha
After winning the first Continental cycling trophy- La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, Champion cyclist Areruya Joseph has been selected to represent Rwanda at the upcoming Coupe des Nations UCI U23 series ‘Tour de l’Espoir’.
Areruya will be joined by another star cyclist, Samuel Mugisha to contend for the UCI U23 debut (which is the Tour of France under 23) series this year.
Would Areruya win this tournament, it could be a golden opportunity for him to prove that he can participate and win next year’s Tour of France- that could put Rwanda on the global sporting map.
UCI U23 tournament will kick off in Cameroon this January 31st through February 4th 2018.
The Team Rwanda duo is expected to fly off to the West African country on Monday accompanied by head coach Sterling Magnell with Eric Maniriho and Obed Ruvogera on the technical bench.
Both Areruya and Mugisha are one of the top cyclists in the Dimension Data Continental club – who have managed to rise through the cycling ranks locally.
Just like Areruya’s father, Aimable Bayingana, the president of the National Cycling Federation (Ferwacy) believes that the 23-year-old cyclist will win the five-day event.
“Our goal has been set – to win major tournaments in Africa so that we can send our players to the upcoming global games in Australia,” Bayingana told Kigali Today this Friday.
Two winners of the Tour de l’Espoir will automatically get a free ticket to ride at the Tour de l’Avenir in France,- which has been there since 1961 and are part of the UCI U23 tournament series this year.
Egan Bernal, a Colombian cyclist won the 2017 Tour de l’Avenir last year.
